Chambers Top Departments

Rankings Roundup

Vault #5
AMLaw #25

What do these ratings mean?

from Brian Dalton, Breaking Media Director of Research

The ATL School and Firm Insiders Survey asks self-identified current students,
alumni, and practicing lawyers to rate major aspects of life at their law school (academics, social
life, clinical training, career services, financial aid advising) and/or law firm (compensation,
hours, morale, culture, training). We then translate these ratings into letter grades, where the
mean score for each particular ratings category is the equivalent of a “B.”

We require a minimum threshold of responses for each institution before we publish any survey-based
ratings content. Using a standard formula for statistical validity, we adhere to a threshold that
gives us an 85% confidence level and a 10% margin of error. The precise threshold number will of
course vary depending on the size of the individual institution. For example, for a law firm of
1,000 attorneys, we would require 50 responses in order to publish ratings for the firm.

Top Practice by Headcount and Top Schools data is provided by
Leopard Solutions. Leopard Solutions
is a leading provider of attorney data to legal recruiters, law firms and law schools. We track
attorneys in over 1500 law firms around the country and document their practice area, specialties,
honors, languages advanced degrees and more. We provide an overview of each law firm as well as
detailed information on individual attorneys. The data can be used to track trends, movements,
growth and more.

Leverage is the number of attorneys minus equity partners, divided by equity partners.

Advances, Bonuses, Benefits & Stipends for First-Years

Insider Reviews

Partnership prospects are close to zero. The people are incredibly nice, but also incredibly hard-working, smart, intense, and dedicated to the practice of law.

Midlevel Associate

Culture. Very different. Polite — which is good — and genteel and can become passive-aggressive.

Jr. Associate

Excellent people, open and friendly. Can be a bit formal at times.

Midlevel Associate

Amazing amazing cost of living and housing allowances in overseas offices

Midlevel Associate

Hours will be bad at any major NYC big law firm, and most top firms are on the same payscale. Do I wish DPW was a leader in compensation? Sure. But I’d much rather have a good group of colleagues, mentors, and a supportive and professional work environment. I couldn’t be happier anywhere else.

Jr. Associate

The firm is busy and summer associates take work off the hands of first-year associates. Missing summer events for work is not uncommon, but it’s a worthwhile result of being an integral part of a deal team.

Summer Associate

Talking Points

Grover Cleveland worked at Davis Polk between his two presidential terms.

John W. Davis founded the firm after serving as United States Solicitor General.

Recent Headlines from Above the Law

Ed. note: Due to the Presidents’ Day holiday, we will be on a reduced publication schedule today. We will still be publishing, but less frequently than usual. We will be back in full force tomorrow.

* The news is in, and it seems that Davis Polk’s financial numbers were at record highs. The firm’s revenue beat the $1 billion mark for the first time ever, and its PPP rose to $3.29 million. No wonder its 2014 bonuses were so awesome! [Am Law Daily]

* Yes, we know that William Mitchell Law and Hamline Law are merging to survive as a result of a quickly disappearing applicant pool. We’d really love to know how many other law schools are considering this as an alternative to closing their doors. [Star Tribune]

* How are Nebraska and Oklahoma, which neighbor Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized, handling the situation? Not well. Their AGs want SCOTUS to rule the weed law in the state where you can get Rocky Mountain High is unconstitutional. [PBS NewsHour]

* Thanks to a recent ABA rule change, schools are beginning to admit students without LSAT scores. One of those schools is Iowa Law (ranked in the top 30 by U.S. News), but those students need to have done really well on other standardized tests. [Daily Iowan]

* “How have I done as a judge today?” “Not bad, but you could do better.” Judge John Hurley had a run-in with an 80-year-old criminal defendant who wouldn’t stop calling him sweetheart. Flip to the next page to see the entertaining video. [NBC 6 South Florida]

* The Fifth Circuit is allowing the Texas voter ID law to be enforced during the upcoming election, even though it was recently struck down by a federal judge. After all, “preserving the status quo” is very important down south. [Bloomberg]

* We suppose that’s why the Supreme Court stepped in to make sure that abortion clinics in Texas were allowed to reopen following their shut down. Take that, Fifth Circuit. [New York Times]

* AG Eric Holder is showing off some fancy legal footwork before he walks out the door. Federal prosecutors can no longer ask defendants to waive their IAC claims when pleading guilty. [WSJ Law Blog]

* Davis Polk & Wardwell is a Biglaw firm where hotties roam, and it looks like this top Justice Department prosecutor who started his career there is returning home there to roost. [DealBook / New York Times]

* It’s the debt: With headlines like “Law school applications plummet – at U of L too,” the University of Louisville School of Law can’t even convince alums from its undergrad school to attend. [Courier-Journal]

* Amal Alamuddin changed her name to Amal Clooney on her firm’s website. It’s as if she wants to rub the fact that she’s a human rights lawyer who just got married in everyone’s face. [New York Daily News]